


Immunity, Long Overdue

by Empress_Of_Edenia



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Allura has depression, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Rock Band, Band Fic, Established Relationship, F/M, Implied/Referenced Drug Addiction, Kallura are dating, Keith is a guitarist, Keith is a recovering addict, Lance is the band's manager, Pidge is a bassist, Sequel, Shiro is the lead singer, Smoking, everyone is human, hunk plays drums, pre established Kallura
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-22
Updated: 2019-10-22
Packaged: 2020-12-27 22:57:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,983
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21126650
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Empress_Of_Edenia/pseuds/Empress_Of_Edenia
Summary: Tonight is no ordinary night for full-time guitarist Keith Ashland-Delmar. He's expecting someone in particular to turn up at Black Lion's new show- someone important.





	Immunity, Long Overdue

Keith stood there backstage, tuning his cherry red guitar in the controlled chaos of it all;

People rushing back and forth, mic checks, Shiro warming up his voice. But these were normal. They comforted Keith’s overwrought nerves and soothed his soul. What really had him on edge was that damned crowd. He honestly thought that they could hear every note he and his bandmates were playing, every offhand comment made by Lance or a technician. In Keith’s mind, they heard Shiro sing along to the pre-recorded intro and filler songs, screaming their praise in return. If Keith had to endure one more minute of it, he swore he’d march right back into the tour van.

It would all be worth it, though, when he saw _her_ in that crowd. Or if he saw her, that is. Keith couldn’t stop thinking about the last time they met up. He’d worked up the courage to invite her to Black Lion’s next concert himself, even though he knew she would’ve tried to make it anyway. And, like a fool, Keith had promised her front row tickets. Had he realized that Black Lion’s plans would change, he would’ve quit while he was ahead.

Great, Keith thought. Just fucking perfect. Most of the show was going to be spent trying to find her in a sea of fans in this huge outdoor venue. At night. Keith hoped against all hope that the killer light show Pidge spent all month preparing would help him spot her. Maybe he would catch a glimpse of those incredible blue eyes, or see a flash of white hair. Or maybe she wouldn’t show up after all-

“Hey, Mullet!” Lance cried out.

Keith blinked. He only now saw that Lance was two feet in front of him.

“Earth to Keith Delmar! Are you even listening to me right now?” Lance muttered something under his breath about ‘junkie shit.’

“I heard you the first time,” Keith snapped at him. “And stop bringing that up. I told you I’m clean.”

Lance rolled his eyes, then gestured to Pidge. “Anyway, we came to see how your guitar sounds.”

“It’s already tuned,” Keith said, less annoyed now.

“Cool, so play something for us,” Pidge said.

Keith did as asked and strummed a riff. In his opinion, it was pretty good. It had better be amazing, given the circumstances.

“Uh… hold on, let me see something,” Pidge said. She fiddled around with the volume knobs and made sure that the cables were properly connected to the jack. “Okay, play it again.”

Keith would be lying if he said he didn’t notice a difference the second time around. “Thanks,” he said with a small smile.

Shiro then called everyone over for a group huddle. He was giving another one of his usual pep talks, but Keith was fading in and out.

His thoughts turned back to her. What could possibly be going through her mind right now, if she was here? Did she get to the venue safely? Was her godfather tagging along? Oh Jesus, was Keith going to have to meet him? Would she enjoy herself like she did at the last show?

Keith tuned back into Shiro’s speech long enough to join them. “Let’s give it our all!” he shouted, far later than everyone else.

But no one paid him any mind as they walked out to face the hyped up crowd.

He took his place onstage with the rest of Black Lion, watching Shiro run out to the front, one hand raised in the air while he yelled something incoherent to the fans. ‘Lance’s suggestion, no doubt,’ Keith thought sardonically to himself. He only shook his head and started the opening riff, timed flawlessly with Hunk’s drumming. Keith tried to focus on his frets, but soon his eyes started wandering out into the crowd. Christ, where was she?

Keith was in the middle of chastising himself when at last, he found her. She was standing a lot closer in front than he first realized, but there she stood. Allura had shown her face, in the end.

Shiro’s voice and Pidge’s bass couldn’t have kicked in at a better time. Keith joined in with backup singing, his vocals never having felt more alive.

Keith let the surge of newfound power course through him as he took them all into their newest song. Only those who’d downloaded the album had heard it until tonight, thought it was likely that Allura already knew about it.

And yet her eyes sparkled in awe as though she was experiencing it for the first time. She appeared to hang on every lyric, committing them to memory. Even now, it was clear that this was going to be another one of her favorites.

“Immunity, long overdue…” Keith crooned into his mic as sweetly as possible. He could feel his smoked out vocal chords hate him for singing out of his range. But the pain was worth it, so long as Allura loved what she heard. Keith might’ve been going crazy again, but he was certain that she shouted something encouraging his way.

The stage grew dim as that song came to a close, then lit back up in a dazzling display of color. The crowd erupted in screams and wild applause, and he saw Allura letting herself get lost in the spectacle.

Projected behind Keith were symbols and art pieces associated with Black Lion’s image, including the aforementioned king of the jungle rendered in 3-D. Pidge had worked on that one all week, and now the cosmic god of stoners himself could leap at the audience to ‘devour’ them.

Keith then witnessed something incredible; Allura, either with the help of a friend he couldn’t see or by her own design, was surfing toward him. She may as well have been seated on a throne, she rode the wave so smoothly.

Allura grazed his free hand for the few minutes that Hunk’s drum solo lasted. Her fingers were so slight in comparison to his, so warm in the chill of night. They trembled in his palm. The crowd then dipped low and she sank back down to the ground with them.

Keith was overwhelmed. He didn’t even try to stop himself from busting out the liveliest, most squealing note when the time came for his guitar to shine. A jagged line of hands and fists shot up in response to that. Though he couldn’t see her, Keith knew that Allura was in there somewhere, cheering him on and raising hell.

* * *

The summer night air seemed to be warmer by the tour van. Then again, it was possible that Keith had just been outside for too long. Maybe he was getting used to its bite.

Keith stopped dead in his tracks. Lance and Allura were standing near the van, talking to one another. The little black hairs on the back of his neck stood up. He remembered what she had to say about her first encounter with Lance, about the way he treated her. Keith’s blood simmered to a slow boil at the thought of this asshole chasing her off from yet _another_ venue.

He calmed down, though, when he saw that their conversation was a friendly and excitable one. Allura had a smile on her face, laughing once or twice at Lance’s stupid jokes. He didn’t know the details, but Keith was glad to see that they’d made amends.

Lance turned his head when he heard Keith approach. “That’s my cue to go,” Lance told Allura. He left them alone for the night, hands in his pockets.

Allura waved back, then faced Keith. “Good evening,” was all she had to say for herself in her lilting, accented voice.

“I can’t believe you did that,” Keith said, throwing all formalities out the window now that the show was over. 

“Oh, come now,” she said, “when else would I get the chance to?” A dark pink blush spread across her cheeks.

“Fair point,” he conceded. “Let’s go inside, for a bit.”

“Yes, let’s,” she agreed.

As always, Keith made way for Allura to go in first. He prayed and hoped that his bandmates had had the decency to pick up after themselves beforehand. To his surprise, the tour van was empty. Not even Pidge had stayed behind to fiddle with her laptop or work on random tech. A pleasant sight to return to, he thought.

Allura found a cozy spot in the back of the van, plopping down and patting the cushion next to her.

Even now, Keith had to will his cold feet to move. To go over there and accept her invitation. But accept the invitation he did, having to remind himself that all of this was, in fact, real. He tried not to sit right on top of her, as quarters were a bit tight in here.

“What’s new? Besides the crowd surfing,” Keith said when he was finally comfortable.

“Things have been the same,” Allura said. “Which I am quite happy about, for a change.”

Keith nodded. “Still seeing Dr. Kolivan?”

“Yes, although today’s session was rather short,” she said. Mischief glistened in her eyes, a playful smirk soon to follow. “Priorities and all that.”

“You didn’t…” he stared at her in shock. “You shouldn’t cancel your therapy sessions just for us.” 

Allura chuckled. “I’m joking. We aren’t scheduled to meet until tomorrow morning.”  


Keith almost wanted to be cross with her for pulling that. But he could never stay mad at her. Not for very long, anyway. He let out an enormous sigh of relief and stopped himself from ruining her fun.  


“My apologies, I only wanted to see the look on your face,” she said.  


“You got me,” he admitted with a nervous laugh.  


“I can imagine how busy you have been,” she said while changing the subject. “All is well on your end, I take it?”  


He had to be honest with her and say that they weren’t. From the van itself breaking down on the way here, to Shiro almost getting left behind at one motel, to bickering over something as insignificant as a t-shirt design, stress was eager to chew him up and spit him out. He confessed it all to her, even if it sounded trivial in comparison to what her week looked like.  


“The best part of this tour,” Keith said, bringing it back to them, “was definitely tonight.”  


“I hope so,” Allura said. “You were amazing, as usual.”  


She never seemed to be talking about the others whenever she said that. ‘You’ was always meant for him, just him.  


Their evening went on like this, idle and quiet as Keith wanted it to be. The only exception came in the form of his guitar, as Keith would take it out occasionally to play acoustic versions of their favorites. He didn’t forget to play the one that meant the most to them, of course. If he hadn’t done that before the night was over, this pseudo-date would’ve sucked. Keith took a backseat this time, and let her sing the majority of the lyrics.  


“Does your throat hurt again?” she asked with concern in her voice.  


Keith shook his head, trying to ignore the scratchy raw burn he felt in exactly that area. True, lying wasn’t the best way to handle getting called out, but he didn’t know what else to do. “Your singing is just really good.”  


Allura’s eyes softened with compassion, but a modest smile kept her expression light and warm regardless. “I am not as skilled as an actual musician, but thank you.” 

She grew tired of singing at some point. She grew tired of drinking, talking, and in general, too. Keith couldn’t blame her; with work hours like that, it was impressive that she’d stayed awake for this long.  


Keith felt her head flop onto his shoulder. He had no sudden urge to squirm or move away as he did in the past. The warmth of her body and the sweet scent of her perfume was welcoming, so he let her use him as a leather-clad pillow. Keith tried to follow her lead, but sleep was taking its precious time.  


It would find him sooner or later, Keith surmised. No need to rush anything. He knew he would enjoy this more if he relaxed, took in the little details while he was awake. Like how she rolled onto him just slightly, her hand laying on his chest. Its touch was feather light, too light for Keith to feel it. Yet it jump started it his heart like cables stuck in an old car battery.  


The hours were still passing him by when Keith realized that he needed a smoke. He’d gone all day without one, not counting concert time. Considering how good he felt right now, he definitely earned at least _one_ cigarette.  


His ashtray was right in front of him. How hadn’t noticed it until now was beyond him. Anything was possible when Allura was here, he thought. Keith leaned over to it, seeing that a fresh unopened pack sat next to the ashtray. He didn’t move too quickly, of course, mindful of Allura. Keith intended to grab the pack, carefully readjust her and let her sleep while he indulged himself outside.  


But he just couldn’t do it. Any move he made was either too aggressive for her comfort or too delicate for him to reach the pack of cigarettes. Keit left it be, after a while. For as much as he craved the fiery burn in his lungs, Keith found that there was something -or rather, someone- even warmer to quell him. That certain someone buried her face into his jacket lapels, at that moment.  


Keith responded in kind by stroking her hair. “You’re always saving me from myself…” 

He thought back to that night in the alleyway. Her words to him were as fresh in his mind as though she'd said them yesterday.  


"I don't think I would be here, if it were not for you…"  


He couldn't have fathomed telling her what she did to him that night, what deeply buried secrets she had brought to the surface. But now, Keith wondered if tonight would be a good time.  


It was pretty cowardly to confess while was asleep, but someday he would do it the right way. This counted as practice, in Keith’s opinion.  


"I didn’t think I would make it, either,” Keith started.  


He started from the beginning, trying to spare her the unnecessary details. Keith skipped right to the part where Shiro’s extended deployment in Afghanistan made him quit school. No one knew where he’d gone or what became of him.  


“What was even the point? Even if someone did know, they wouldn’t have bothered telling me,” Keith added.  


Not that there was anyone waiting for him, outside of military school. When every foster home failed him in one way or another, all that remained was a run-down shack in the Arizona desert, a gift from his dead dad. Just a shack and a potent substance he knew now that he should’ve never touched in the first place.  


He paused in his story to take a breather. The memory of that terrible, terrible night engulfed him and for a moment, he thought he might break. Keith took in slow, steady breaths to prepare himself before he continued.  


Keith confessed that he never knew withdrawal could be so powerful until that night. All he remembered now was groping around his bedroom while on the floor, suffering until it occurred to him to write something down. Anything to distract him from how much it hurt. 

He wound up writing in that notebook more often than not. It proved to be a better companion than stomach pains or drowning in his own sweat. The notebook of ramblings was somewhere in his actual home, but where exactly he couldn’t tell her.  


“Then Shiro came back. He actually came home, Allura…” Keith tried not to get too misty-eyed, for fear that he would get lost in the memory. 

With the help of his fellow POWs, Shiro returned to Arizona. But by then, all of his and Keith’s future prospects had been trashed. It would’ve been hell trying to reenlist, let alone get involved in a cause neither of them believed in anymore. But there was one thing they still did believe in: music.  


“Now I’m supposed to say I got clean and lived happily ever after,” Keith murmured, petting her hair and pulling her closer.  


He wasn’t lying when he told Lance off about it. Keith hadn’t touched the stuff in two years. He wouldn’t dream of ever going back, but all he had to do was look at what he replaced his old habits with. How far away was he from relapse if he kept smoking his singing voice away? 

Gently lifting his foot, Keith used the toe of his boot to push the ashtray and cigarette pack off of the table. It landed noiselessly on the carpeted floor, allowing Allura to stay in dreamland. He hoped the damned thing broke or at least cracked. All the more reason to toss it in the garbage.  


Keith turned his focus back to Allura. “Thanks for listening,” he whispered, kissing the top of her head and resting his chin on it.  


Tomorrow, when things looked less hectic and his schedule opened up for some free time, Keith was going to call Allura. He’d ring her up and ask where she was going for her therapy sessions, see if there wasn’t an opening for him with a different doctor. He couldn’t promise that he’d make every appointment, or that he wouldn’t reach for that pack of cigarettes on the ground once she went home tonight. But he promised he would give it a shot.  


For the sake of their future, Keith wanted to try.

**Author's Note:**

> Big thank yous to smallkazoo/Ty, birmychirp/imperiality and K-Lionheart for beta-reading this. I'm glad I could make you guys so proud. <3 
> 
> As indicated by the tags, this is a sequel to [a fic I wrote last year.](https://archiveofourown.org/works/13683630) [And yes, I based the title on a song again.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7DfQMPmJRI) Sorry if it's blocked in your country.


End file.
